Just Surviving
by ECaitlin
Summary: Set during Harry's 7th year. With Voldemort ruling and death eaters roaming the halls, the students of Hogwarts are fighting to just survive the year. Gryffindor's head girl, Emma, struggles to keep herself, and her house, safe.
1. First Day Back

**So, I just watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 and it inspired me to right this. I love the Harry Potter books but have not yet written a fanficiton for it yet. I am currently writing another fanfiction so I will not be updating this one every day, since I have to alternate my time between the two. ANYWAYS. I hope you enjoy. :)**

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><p>I've attended Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry for as long as I could remember, but not once in my seven years here had I seen it like this.<p>

The first night after summer break was usually filled with happy children and teenagers, excited to start the year and see each other again. There would be first years who would be teary-eyed about leaving there parents, but excited about going to Hogwarts. The returning students would be with their groups of friends in their dorms, laughing and sharing stories about the summer.

Not this year. The school was calm for once, which is not a word I would usually use to describe Hogwarts. Almost all the students were in their dorms instead of out milling the halls or in the great hall, eating food. The only students who dared leave their dormitories were Slytherins.

This is, of course, because Lord Voldemort was in control of everything from the school to the Ministry. I'd heard rumours that Harry Potter and his two friends were out there somewhere trying to take down Voldemort, but while he was doing that the rest of us were stuck here, attending Hogwarts under the new headmaster, Snape, and the few new teachers who I am almost positive are Death Eaters.

"Emma!" Someone called from behind me. I turned to find Cho Chang.

"What is it?" I asked, eying the girl with confusion.

"All of the heads are supposed to meet in the library. Snape's orders." She told me.

I'd almost forgotten that Cho, like myself, had been named Head Girl of her house.

"What for?" I ask as we walk together towards the library. Cho and I hadn't spoken much in the years that we've attended Hogwarts, but we got along well enough. She shrugs at my question.

"Who's Hufflepuff's head?" I ask. The only reason why I knew that Cho was head was because my father worked closely with hers.

"I think Zacharias Smith." She tells me.

She pushes the large doors to the library open and holds them for me. I thank her as I walk by.

"Hello, students." Says Professor McGonagall.

My eyes widened a bit at the sight of her.

"I thought Snape wanted us all to meet." I stated, looking around at everyone else. Ah, Carson Nigellus was head of Slytherin. It was no surprise, really, considering his grandfather was a former headmaster. It didn't make him anymore likable, though.

"Headmaster Snape," McGonagall started, saying Snape's name with a large amount of malice in her voice. "Is currently busy, so I'll be giving you the Head Of House speach."

"About the dementors-" Zacharias started, but McGonagall cut him off.

"It is your responsibility to keep yourself and the other students in your house from provoking them to attack. They are here as guards, or spies, if you will, and will not attack without reason." She adds the words 'I hope' so quietly I hardly hear it.

"This year the Heads of house will have a much harder job. With the rise in power of Voldemort-" Zacharias gasps and Carson narrows his eyes " Pull it together, boy!" She snaps. " The new staff members have requested the rights to more... violent punishment, so I suggest you stress that fact to your house. I do not suggest anyone taking a stand against them. That will be the rest of the staffs job."

"What do you mean more violent?" I asked, outraged. "They can't just-"

"They can, Mrs. Wright, and they will." She said harshly. Her eyes softened a bit. "This year is going to be one of the hardest any of us have faced, but all we can do is work hard to make it through it. Does anyone have any questions?"

"I don't think my house will have any problems." Carson said, standing up. "If that's all, I'd like to go eat."

Carson walked away without another word or a dismissal from McGonagall.

"He's right." I said angrily. "They're favored this year, the Slytherins. The rest of us will have to fight to get by while they all enjoy their time like nothings wrong! Their families aren't in danger. _They_ aren't in danger. We all are."

"I wish I could deny that, but you are right." McGonagall replies. She looks very upset. "I wish there was more I could do, but at the moment I am doing the best I can here, trying to keep you children safe."

"Thank you for warning us." Cho says. She has tears in her eyes.

I was never like that. Never the kind of girl to cry over things that upset me. Instead I like to put all my emotion into other, more productive things.

"I'm going to go have a talk with the other Gryffindors." I said and, like Carson, leave the library.

As I walk down the hallway I notice two of my fellow Gryffindors. Two that I happen to like, and happen to know will help me.

"Neville!" I call. "Ginny!"

The two turn so quickly, their eyes wide, that I know they are discussing something that could get them in trouble.

"Sorry for starteling you." I tell them both. "But I was wondering if you could do me a favor. I'm having a house meeting. If you could find any Gryffindors not in the dormitory and send them back I'd really appreciate it."

Ginny smiles at me. "Sure, Emma."

I leave them behind me and head to the Gryffindor common room. I head right up to the girls tower first and tell all the timid looking first years to go down to the common room. All the older girls are either downstairs or somewhere else in the castle.

Then I head into the boys tower. I haven't been up here before, but it's really no different then our part of the dorm. I knock on all the doors but only get replies from two.

When I get downstairs I see Neville and Ginny are back.

"I've just come back from speaking with McGonagall." I say, my voice loud and clear. "I'm going to need everyone to listen very carefully: No one is to go near,or provoke the dementors. They will not attack unless you make them. Same goes for the new teachers."

"I heard they're death eaters!" One student yelled. A few first years looked frightened.

"I'm still not sure about that, but I am sure that Snape has given them the right to use violence when punishing us. I beg you all to please, please not give them a reason to punish you. If you do, or if you see someone else being punished, I suggest heading to McGonagall." I say. "This year is the most dangerous any of us will ever face. As Gryffindors we are strong and brave, but I ask of you to not use that bravery in a way that will get yourself hurt."

"We can't just sit by while you-know-who and the death eaters take over Hogwarts!" Seamus yells.

"I agree." I say, and he looks a little surprised. "But if we are to fight back, we must do it discretely so that we are still keeping ourselves safe."

"Harry wouldn't want us to just give up." Neville says. People whisper, some agreeing with him, some shocked at hearing Harry's name.

"You're right, but he also wouldn't want any of us to get ourselves killed." I say kindly. Neville may seem like a dork but he is one of the bravest of the Gryffindors.

"That's all I had to say. Try and stay out of trouble!" I yell as everyone starts talking.


	2. Crucio!

The next day I awoke an hour and a half before my first class. I was always an early riser, and this gave me time to take a shower, get dressed, put on make-up and eat breakfast.

When I got finished with my usual morning routine, I noticed a few Gryffindors were still just waking up. Would they be punished if they were late? If it was to one of the new teachers classes, I was sure they would.

"Hurry up, you guys. You have twenty minutes to dress and eat. No being late!" I yelled as I ran out the door and to the Great Hall.

I ate breakfast quickly, just a peice of toast and an apple, and then headed to my first - and most dreaded - class of the day.

Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The male Carrow, the death eater, was the teacher and, to make it worse, the Gryffindors had to share the class with Slytherin.

I found the rest of the Gryffindors in my grade waiting outside in the hall.

"Better hurry, Emma!" Called a distinctly Irish accent. "Almost late."

I loved that accent.

I was born and raised in Canada, where my parents had moved during Voldemort's first rain of terror. I would have attended the Wizarding school there, but my parents insisted I attend Hogwarts, just like they did. Though my parents both had English accents, I hadn't adapted one myself, instead talking like everyone else in Canada.

Coming to Hogwarts, I found the accents (except for the English one's since I was used to them) interesting and, in some cases,- though I'd never admit it - sexy.

I hid a blush and smiled at Seamus, who was standing in the group of Gryffindors with Dean, of course.

"Not even!" I told him as I came to stand with everyone else.

Just then Proffesor Carrow came into the hall, followed by the Slytherins. They were all laughing at something he said, though some looked a little frightened.

He slipped by all the Gryffindors with a look of annoyance and disgust on his face and opened the door to let us all enter. I could hear many of the Gryffindors in my wake whispering about him being a death eater.

After everyone was seated, Professor Carrow stood at the top of the room and addressed us all.

"I know some of you believe that I am your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but you are wrong." He says, making many of the Gryffindors whisper in confusion. " I will not be teaching you to defend yourself, but instead, I will be teaching you how to use the dark arts."

I narrowed my eyes in anger, though I wasn't really surprised. What else would you expect from a Death Eater?

"Today I will be teaching you how to properly use two of the three Forbidden Curses." He says with an evil smile. He looks to the Slytherin side of the room. "I need a volunteer."

He looks around and finally settles on Blaise Zabini. He motions for Blaise to join him at the front of the room. Blaise does, smiling smugly.

Carrow then looks around the Gryffindor side of the room and his gaze falls upon Maysilee Jenson.

"You, join us up here." He says, and his smile gets even bigger.

Maysilee is shorter than the rest of us in our class. She practically looks like a first year. From what I know, she is timid and was almost sorted into Hufflepuff. My stumach clenches.

"Zabini, you will be practicing the Cruciatus curse," Carrow says, and I see a few happy smiles from the Slytherins. "On this girl here."

I stand up instantly, not willing to let Maysilee be hurt like that. She looks so scared up there. Tears are streaming down her face.

"You can't do that!" I say angrily.

Everyone turns to look at me, including Carrow, who has his eyes narrowed.

"Are you willing to take her place?" He says, raising his eyebrows. "Because if not, I would suggest you sit down."

"Fine, I'll take her place." I say, going up to the front and putting Maysilee behind me. "Go sit down."

She nods, looking grateful.

Everyone's whispering again, this time about me.

"Zabini." Carrow says, motioning to me. "I'm sure you know the proper incantation."

"Crucio!" Zabini yells, his wand waving in my direction. He's smiling.

Then the pain started. My body jerked, it felt like I was being burned and pulled apart, limb by limb. My knees gave way and my body hit the ground, hard, but I didn't notice the pain from that because I was too busy focusing on the pain from Zabini.

I could hear myself screaming as I writhed on the floor. Thinking was becoming harder and harder.

Eventually the only thing I could do was hope that it would end.

I could hear Carrow talking loudly over my screams about people going insane from the Cruciatus curse.

Suddenly the pain stopped. I didn't move for a few moments, mostly because I couldn't. When I finally could I found Blaise, Carson, Neville, Seamus and Dean all standing before me. Zabini looked annoyed.

"You could have killed her!" Seamus said angrily to Blaise.

"No, she would have just gone insane." Carrow said, not sounding the least bit upset.

I watched Carrow look angrily at all the boys standing above me, except Blaise.

"You four had no right to try and stop my teaching demonstration." He told them angrily.

Normally I would have wondered why Carson had been up there, him being Slytherin and all. I'd expect him to be laughing along with the rest of his house. Instead, I could only think of the pain I was still feeling, even though Blaise had stopped cursing me.

I closed my eyes again for a few seconds, enjoying the feeling of the cold stone on my cheek. Then slowly I rolled my body a little so I could try and stand up.

"That's what bravery gets you, stupid Gryffindor." Carrow said, smiling at me. "Maybe next time you won't interfere?"

"Not... likely." I said, my voice coming our hoarse.

"We should take her to Madame Pomfrey." Neville said.

Seamus bent down and picked me up into his arms.

"Let me help." Carson offered.

Dean narrowed his eyes. "We've got her, Slytherin."

"You will not be taking her until class has ended." Carrow said angrily. "She is still on my time, no matter what she has just bared."

"But she's hurt-" Carrow cut Neville off.

"Unless all three of you boys want another demonstration on how the Cruciatus curse works, you will leave the girl until class has ended." He told them.

"I don't care." Neville said angrily.

"Oh, dear boy, I didn't mean we'd demonstrate on you. I meant we'd demonstrate on Mrs. Wright again." Carrow replied, which made Seamus stop in his tracks. "Leave her in her seat."

I was so thankful that they stopped arguing with Carrow. I couldn't stand that again, not ever. Seamus gently put me in my seat.

The second he let go of my I felt my body swaying to the side. I used all the strength I had to cling to the table in front of me so I wouldn't fall, but what little strength I had wasn't enough.

I slowly let my body slip off the stool and onto the floor. I sat with my head between my knees, hoping the dizziness and pain would subside soon.

"Get back in your seat!" Carrow ordered.

I turned my head to glare at him. Then, grudgingly, I said, "I can't." It hurt my pride to admit it but the words came out through my clenched teeth.

I could feel the anger radiating off my fellow Gryffindors but no one did anything, of course. Carrow had already proved her was willing to punish me again.

Carrow looked like he was considering making me, but instead just narrowed his eyes. "Fine. Stay there, on the floor." He sneered.

And I did, while the horrid pain in my head and body made me want to burst into tears.


	3. Room of Requirement

**So, I know some parts of this book aren't going exactly along with the original books, like the fact that Dean is at Hogwarts and not on the run, but he was a character I wanted in my story and he is an important one, so I didn't think it would matter if I changed that little bit of the original plot. ANYWAYS! Happy reading! -C**

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><p>"Stop!" I screamed. "Just stop it!"<p>

Why wouldn't the pain go away?

I was back on the floor in Defense Against the Dark Arts, writhing in pain. I could hear myself screaming but I couldn't do anything to stop it.

"PLEASE!" I shouted. "Leave me alone-"

I bolted upright, my forehead drenched in sweat. I wasn't in the class room anymore. I was in the Gryffindor common room. Someone was shaking my arm and calling my name.

"Emma, wake up!" I looked up to see Ginny leaning over me, a look of deep concern on her face.

"What- What happened?"I asked, sitting up. My brain was groggy and my body felt tired, as if I'd just run a marathon.

"You were dreaming." She said. She looked relieved that I was awake. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine." I said, a little confused. "Shouldn't we all be in class?"

"Madame Pomfrey gave you something to help you sleep and we brought you in here. The beds in the infirmary are terribly uncomfortable." She told me. She sat down on the end of the couch, by my feet.

"Here." Neville, who was sitting on another couch with Seamus and Dean, handed me a glass of something. I took it, not caring what it was. My mouth was so dry.

Maysilee ran down the stairs of the girls tower and noticed I was awake. She ran at me and gave me a huge hug.

"I'm so sorry Emma!" She cried. The girl looked close to tears again. "You shouldn't have done that for me."

"Don't worry about it." I told her, patting her on the back awkwardly. "I'm fine."

That was mostly true, now. My head was still a little dizzy, and my body tired, but I wasn't in pain anymore.

"You're probably hungry!" She said, jumping up. "I'll go get you something."

Maysilee ran out of the common room before I could tell her I was fine to fend for myself.

"She feels really bad." Ginny tells me. "She thinks it's her fault."

"It's not." I reply. "I chose to take her place. Look at her! If it was that bad for me, I can only imagine how bad it would have been for her. She was crying before he even used the curse."

"I know. Everyone's talking about it." Ginny says quietly.

"Great." I mumble.

"No, it was brave!" Neville told me. Then he laughed. "You should have seen what happened in the hallway after class. Someone jinxed Zabini and he was covered in boils for an hour before Madame Pomfrey fixed him up. The hall was so crowded they don't even know who did it."

Finally Dean and Seamus did something other than just sit there. The two of them burst with laughter, and something about the smiles on their faces told me that one of them was the one who jinxed him.

"You guys have to be more careful than that." I told the two of them. "You could have gotten hurt."

"So it's only okay for you to take risks?" Dean asked me, looking skeptical.

"Well, no I guess not but-"

"He deserved it, if you ask me." Seamus said.

"I guess. But we need to do something." I said suddenly.

"Like what?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know, but we can't... we can't just have people using forbidden corridors on students-" I was suddenly cut off by a loud booming voice that echoed off the walls all around us.

"Any wizard without proof of blood status must report to the Great Hall immediately." The voice boomed. It sounded like Carrow. "Any muggle-born students _must_ report to the Great Hall!"

Suddenly Dean, who was usually dark skinned, turned pale and ashen.

"Oh no." Ginny said, looking equally frightened, though unlike Dean she had nothing to worry about.

I jumped up immediately, and it made me head spin. "We need somewhere to hide people!" I said frantically.

"I thought we'd be safe here, at least." Dean said quietly. "But I guess I should have realized Voldemort was controlling this place too. I'm as good as dead."

"No," I said fiercely. "You're not! There's got to be somewhere... Somewhere they can't find you."

"The Room Of Requirement!" Neville shouted. "It never showed up on Harry's map, it's almost impossible to locate, and even then you can't break into it unless you know what's inside."

"Neville, you're a genius." I tell him. He smiles brightly. "Dean, Seamus, you guys go there now, make sure to think about a room that can house a bunch of students. Beds, couches, stuff like that. Neville, Ginny, we'll go look for other muggle-borns."

We all bolted out of the Gryffindor common room as fast as possible. Neville and Ginny and I all split up, searching the halls for other students.

I spotted a young girl, probably a first year, who looked confused and scared.

"Are you muggle-born?" I asked her after running to catch up with her.

She turns to me, tears in her eyes. "Please don't kill me." She says softly.

My heart clenches for a second. "No, hun, I won't. Promise. I'm going to take you somewhere safe, okay?" I say to her.

She nods, but still looks scared.

"We've got to hurry, alright?" I tell her. Then I pick her up in my arms and start running towards the room of requirement. "If you see anyone behind us, tell me."

When I get in front of the door I realize I won't be able to get in unless Seamus or Dean comes out.

"Shit!" I yell in frustration, then realize that I just swore in front of a child. "Sorry."

And then, thank the lord, Seamus steps out of the room of requirement. I hand the girl to him and he takes her inside.

Quickly, I step inside with them, look around the room then bolt out, heading back down the halls. I pass by Ginny, who has found Luna and both of them are herding first years with them while a few older kids hurry along behind them.

I head in the opposite direction of them and almost run straight into Carson.

"What are you doing?" He asks me.

My heart flies up into my throat and for a second I can't talk or breath. I can feel my eyes widening in shock, but try to hide my fear.

"N-nothing!" I say too quickly.

I look around us. I can't see anyone else. Perhaps Ginny and Neville got everyone?

Carson was about to say something, but the loud booming voice was back.

"Anyone caught aiding Mud-bloods will be punished accordingly!" The voice shouted. "All muggle-borns to the Great Hall, or face the consequences."

Suddenly I see Colin Creevey walking with Justin Finch-Fletchy, both of them in the direction of the Great Hall. Both of them are walking slowly, their bodies hunched over.

"Colin!" I shout.

They both stop and turn to me. I cast one last look at Carson, and know that I could be getting myself in very big trouble, bust still run towards the two boys.

"Muggle-born?" I ask quickly.

I can already tell from the frightened looks on their faces that they are.

"You were both in the DA, right?" I ask while looking around, scared as well.

Carson is still where I left him, watching me talk to the two boys.

They both nod.

"Seamus and Dean are in the Room of Requirement." I whisper so Carson doesn't over hear. "You'll be safe there."

They both nod and quickly run in the direction of the room.

"Aiding muggle-borns?" Carson asks, a grin on his face.

"Are you going to tell on me like a good little Slytherin?" I ask him, angry.

"And what if I do?" He replies. He steps closer to me, expecting me to be intimidated. I don't back up.

"Have you seen anyone else in the halls, then? If I'm going to go down I'm going to do it saving everyone I can." I tell him. I could always hide out in the Room of Requirement anyways.

"No, not since I saw Longbottom bringing a bunch of them down that hall." He said, pointing to my left. "I won't tell on you, but I'd be careful. I saw Alecto Carrow watching the halls."

For a second I'm shocked. He was actually warning me, not going to tell on me. "Thank you." I say, and then run off back towards the room of requirement.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't see anyone on my way back, so I just walk in front of the wall three times and then enter the room. It looks different than the first time I'd been in there. Then it had looked like a boys room, all blue and hard looking. Now it had pink and purple chairs, too, and there was a soft looking carpet on the floor. There was about fifteen beds in the room and an area for relaxing.

"Wow." I said, a little astonished.

"Did you see the way Seamus and Dean had it before?" Ginny asked me. "Dreadful."

Suddenly I feel someone hugging me and look down to realize it's the little girl I'd brought here first.

She was crying, but clinging to me as if I was the last ray of hope in the dark.

"I want to go home." She said, crying.

"I know." I said awkwardly. I wasn't good with kids. I'd never really had to deal with them before, and I didn't know what to do. "You will, eventually. Promise."

Eventually we got all the younger kids in bed. The rest of us sat on the couches in the corner of the room.

"Did we get everyone?" I ask as soon as everyone was sitting down.

"I think so." Ginny says. "I didn't see anyone else in the corridors."

"Neither did I." Neville adds. "What about you?"

"I brought everyone I seen. Well, except for Carson Nigellus." I reply. That gets everyone's attention.

"She risked her butt to say Colin and I." Justin puts in.

"What did Carson say?" Dean asked.

"He said he wouldn't tell on me." I say, thinking back to the conversation with Carson.

"Are you believed him?" Seamus asks, looking incredulous.

"He said-"

"He's a Slytherin! He's on their side!" Dean shouts.

"Well, it doesn't matter. It's not like anyone else is in danger, only me." I said, feeling defensive. "I did what I had to do to save Colin and Justin. Did you want me to just let them go off into the Great Hall to be slaughtered?"

Dean and Seamus both grumbled angrily, but they both knew I was right.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about." Luna says serenely. I almost forgot she was here, she was so quiet.

"Why not? He can't be trusted." Seamus says angrily.

"No, I think Luna's right." Ginny says, frowning at Seamus and Dean. "You can't just judge all Slytherin's because some of them are bad."

"Some?" Dean replies. "Tell me one that is not bad, Ginny."

Ginny hesitates and it's obvious she can't think of one.

" Carson fancies Emma so it's not like he's going to go and get her killed." Neville says.

Everyone turns to Neville, looking shocked. Including me.

"What?" Seamus asks, both he and Dean exchanging a look.

Neville looks a little embarrassed that everyone was staring at him.

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it? He was the only one who tried to stop Blaise beside us three, and that's because we're her friends. And afterwards he looked angry and kept checking to see if she was alright." Neville said

"I don't think he likes me." I say, blushing a little. "I mean, he's probably just nice or something."

"Why wouldn't he like you?" Luna asks. "You're very pretty, and nice."

For a second I'm speechless. I'd never really had anyone tell me I was pretty before, besides my mother and father.

"Thank you, Luna."

"It's kind of romantic." Ginny puts in. "I mean, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin! Two most unlikely people to ever get together, split apart by hatred..."

"Split apart by hatred? It's not like they're dating!" Snaps Seamus.

"You don't have to be rude just because you're jealous." Ginny snaps back.

"Can we stop arguing and get back to important things?" I ask, though I'm blushing fiercely.

Seamus was jealous? Well, probably not, but still... the thought made me a little happy. I'd had a little crush on Seamus for a while now, actually. I never admitted it to anyone, though. He was cute, of course, light brown hair and nice brown eyes. He wasn't exactly a genius, but he was friendly and funny, and fiercely loyal to his friends.

And there was just something about him like I liked. And that accent...

I pulled myself out of my thoughts to realize that everyone was staring at me.

"What I meant was, what are we going to do for food? And clothes? And going to the bathroom and bathing?" I ask.

"There's two bathrooms, actually." Ginny said with a smile. She looked proud of herself. "I figured if everyone was hiding out in here for a while they'd need a bathroom. There's one for boys and one for girls."

I looked around and realized that there was two doors by the front of the room.

"Good thinking, Ginny." I say. "But what about food and clothes?"

"Well, Seamus and Neville can get the clothes for the male Gryffindors, and you and I can get them for the girls. And Luna can get clothes for the girls in Ravenclaw, right Luna?" Ginny said, as if she'd already thought this out.

"Sure." Luna said with a smile. "I can ask someone to help me with the boys."

"We'll need to speak with a few Hufflepuffs too, then." I put in. "And it could be dangerous. None of us can be caught with the clothes. They'll know we're helping them."

"I can help with that too, actually!" Ginny cut in. "Since Fred and George can't be in business right now, they let me take some things from their shop with me. They've got these short-lasting Invisiblity cloaks. They're only good for one- or two-time use, but that should be enough."

"Brilliant!" Dean said happily. He was looking at Ginny with an awed expression on his face.

Dean and Ginny had dated once, but I'm pretty sure she fell hard for Harry. Dean obviously wasn't over that relationship, though.

"Thank you, Dean." She said politely. I obviously wasn't the only one who noticed the way Dean looked at her.

"We'd better get back soon." Neville told us. "They'll probably be checking dorms to see if anyone's out."

"Shoot, you're right!" I said, standing up quickly. "What happens if they know and they're waiting for us?"

"Then we fight. Harry taught us a lot in the DA. We can defend ourselves long enough to get back in here, hopefully." Ginny say, sounding only a little worried.

"I'll see what I can do about the food." I told Dean and Justin.

They both nodded. They looked less worried than the group who was leaving. I guess that made sense, they were already safely in hiding. The rest of us still had to face what was on the outside of this room.

We all hurried to our respective dorms, Ginny, Seamus, Neville and I heading to Gryffindor, while Luna practically glided peacefully to Ravenclaw. At least if someone saw her out, they probably wouldn't question her. Luna was a little odd. In a good way, of course.

When we got back to the dorm no one else was out of bed, but there was a large bowl of stew and half a loaf of bread on the table. Maysilee must have left them for me.

"Do you reckon anyone's searched the dorm?" Seamus asked, plopping himself down on the couch and reaching over to rip a piece of bread off the loaf. He dunked it into my bowl of stew.

"Hey!" I said, but I wasn't really upset. "You better save me some."

"Sorry, Emma. All that excitement made me hungry." Seamus said while chewing.

Sometimes I really wondered what I liked about him.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Ginny said before I had the chance to, wrinkling her nose up in disgust. "You're worse than my brothers."

"I'm hungry!" Seamus said, offended.

"I'm going to bed." I told them all. "I'll see you all in the morning. We'll figure out what to do about the others then."

"Does that mean I can finish this?" Seamus asked, gesturing to my stew.

I just shook my head, but smiled, and walked away. Boys. Even in the middle of a crisis, they could only think about their stumachs.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day I awoke an hour before I usually did, which meant that everyone else in the castle was still sleeping peacefully in their beds. Slowly, I grabbed an outfit and slipped out of the Gryffindor tower.

From there I headed to the second floor, where the Head Bathroom was. I'd yet to use it, opting for the girl bathroom in the Gryffindor tower because it was faster. This morning I wanted something relaxing, though, and I knew that would be the perfect place.

Instead of a password to enter this room, like all the others in Hogwarts, all you had to do was place your hand on the door. I don't know exactly how this magic worked, how they changed it each year to fit every head boy and girl, but I was too sleepy to really give it much thought.

The Head Bathroom had two different changing rooms, with toilets, for the girls and boys. There was two doors in these rooms, one leading into the room, and the other leading out into the large space that held the pool-sized bathtub.

I knocked on the door leading to the bathtub before I got undressed, making sure that no one else was in here. When there was no answer, I slipped out of the shorts and t-shirt that I wore to bed and wrapped a towel around myself.

The Head bath really didn't feel like a bath. It lacked the privacy that most bathrooms had. Yet the large bathtub was very enticing, and before long I was filling it with different scented water and bubbles.

There was one tap that smelled almost exactly like my favorite perfume, very sweet, but not sickeningly so, and some flowery undertone that reminded me of spring. I let those bubbles fill the rest of the pool, enjoying the scent and relaxing in the warm water.

I hadn't been relaxed since that meeting with Mcgonagall on the first day back. All the tension seemed to leave my body, leaving the rest of me feeling comfortable and sleepy.

I'd almost fallen asleep when I heard a door open. My eyes flew open and I covered my naked chest with my arms and turned to see who was there.

"Carson!" I screamed, when I realized it was him coming through the door, just a towel hanging off his hips.

"Emma?" He said, looking momentarily embarrassed.

He opened his mouth to say something else but I cut him off. "Out!" I screamed. "Get out! Didn't anyone teach you to _knock_?"

"I didn't– I– ," But instead of finishing what he was going to say, he turned quickly and walked from the room, not looking back once.

As soon as he shut the door to the boys entrance, I hurried out of the tub and quickly wrapped the towel around myself and ran inside the girls room.

I dressed as quickly as possible and ran out of the Head bathroom.

The water had been too thick with bubbles for anything to of been visible. There's no way he could have seen anything...

For a second the image of Carson, standing there in nothing but a towel flashed across my mind. It was hard to see how nicely built he was under his robes, but with no shirt on his ab muscles were clearly defined and his arms...

I physically shook myself, trying to get it out of my head.

"What's wrong with you?" Ginny asked me.

I hadn't realized that I'd made it to the Great Hall, but somehow my feet had carried me where I needed to go, and I sat myself down beside Ginny.

"You're blushing." Said Seamus, who was sitting across from us.

"Well, I– I ..." I didn't really want to explain what happened.

At that moment Carson came striding into the Great Hall, Malfoy and his friends trailing behind him. All of them looked over at me and shared a laugh, while Carson just winked.

"Maybe we should all start using the Head bathroom." Blaise said loudly as they all walked to their table.

"You see some pretty interesting things in there." Carson replied, equally loud.

"What're they going on about?" Seamus asked.

"Jackass!" I shouted, standing up. I took out my wand, ready to use it, but Ginny quickly pulled me back into my seat.

"Not here!" She said, gesturing at the teachers at the front of the hall. "You'll get in a lot of trouble for what ever you were going to do."

I knew she was right, but every part of me was screaming to hex him.

"I can't believe him!" I said angrily, stabbing a sausage savagely with my fork.

"What happened?" Ginny asked, watching me stab at the sausage again.

"That– that scum! Walked in on me in the bath!" I told her, and I felt myself redden again.

Ginny's eyes widened and Seamus looked furious.

"He couldn't have seen anything, of course. There were too many bubbles, but from the Slytherin's reactions, you'd think I'd been walking around the place naked!" I said, and this time instead of stabbing the sausage, I picked it up and threw it at the back of Carson's head. I had a good arm, and good aim, and it hit him right where I wanted it to.

Realizing what I'd done, I quickly looked up at the teacher's table, but no one noticed. Carson, however, turned around, glaring mutinously at me. I flipped my middle finger at him.

"Careful!" Ginny said quickly. "I know he deserves it, but do it later, when you're not going to get in trouble."

"Oh, I will." I said, thinking of a million ways to curse him.

"Maybe you should tell McGonagall in Transfiguration today." Ginny suggested.

"No, I can't." I replied. "I'd like to, but he really didn't walk in on purpose. He actually seemed really embarrassed. Until he went and lied to all his little friends."

"At least we don't have Dark Arts today." Seamus said, still looking angry. "Still with the stupid Slytherin's, but at least we don't have Carrow."

Transfiguration turned out to be exactly what everyone needed to be cheered up. Not because the class itself was wonderful, but because of the announcement that McGonagall made at the beginning of class.

"Quiet down!" McGonagall said over the noise everyone was making. "I have an important announcement."

When everyone had stopped talking, McGonagall continued.

"The rest of the staff and I agree that, given the current situation, you all deserve something fun to take your minds off things. Something to keep your spirits running a little higher." She said, the first smile I'd seen her wear all year spreading across her face.

"What do you mean?" Asked Malfoy. He looked annoyed, as usual.

"What I mean, Mr Malfoy, is that we have decided to hold a school ball, like the one we had for the Triwizard Tournament." She announced, and gave everyone a chance to whisper amongst ourselves for a moment before continuing. "In a weeks time, all students will be invited to dress up and join in the festivities. It is a formal ball, so you'll be expected to get dress clothes. Anyone who can't manage to get any on their own can contact their Head of House to help arrange something."

"A week?" A few girls muttered, outraged. "Not nearly enough time!"

After that announcement, McGonagall went back to teaching, but seemed to give up when no one would stop talking. The rest of the day everyone was so caught up in talk about the dance that Ginny and I decided it would be best to try and sneak the clothing to the Room of Requirement.

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><p><strong>Leave a review to tell me what you think! - C<strong>


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